Interactive Data Stream

ABSTRACT

The present invention is geared generally towards the transmission of data, such as images, audio, video, or text, as a continuous stream via a network to recipients. In particular, the present invention relates to enabling the transmission of data to recipients and enabling the recipients to interact and influence the content of the transmission.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/955,387, entitled: Interactive Data Stream filedon Aug. 13, 2007, the contents of which are incorporated herein byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is geared generally towards the transmission ofdata, such as images, audio, video, or text, as a continuous stream viaa network to recipients. In particular, the present invention relates toenabling the transmission of data to recipients and enabling therecipients to interact and influence the content of the transmission.

BACKGROUND

Various systems and services transmit entertaining, informative, andadvertising content to recipients in a continuous broadcast. The mostcommon of these are television and radio broadcasts. More recently,services have begun providing similar content to recipients via othermediums, such as via networks associated with personal computers andmobile devices. For example, many Internet services provide videostreams. Some of these services, such as CNN.com, provide users withcontent similar to that found in television broadcasts. For example,such services may provide access to prerecorded video news reports orlive (or near-to live) broadcasts of sporting events. However, apartfrom the user selecting which video to watch, these sites do not involveuser interaction. More user-driven services, such as YouTube.com,typically acquire the content they broadcast from user video fileuploads. Although users can rate such clips, they can do little else tointeract with the transmission. Apart from the content broadcasted,these user-driven services do not vary much from the aforementionedtraditional sites.

Regarding audio transmissions, in addition to traditional radio,individuals have access to a variety of radio programs broadcasted overthe Internet as well. Internet radio stations often allow listeners toinfluence the broadcast by requesting songs, such as by selecting a songfrom a song library and thereby placing the song into the station'squeue. Other Internet radio stations, such as Pandora.com, allow usersto generate their own personal broadcast by indicating favorite songs ormusicians. The service may then create a broadcast based uponcharacteristics the service has associated with the song or musician,and thereby attempt to play music that the listener may enjoy. Inaddition to listening to these stations themselves, users can sharetheir personal stations with other users. While such services enablegreater interaction than video broadcasts, the interaction is typicallyone-way. For example, a listener, perhaps even a majority of thelisteners, may not like a song that has been requested, but, apart fromcontacting the service administrator, these listeners have no immediateway of preventing the song from being played. Furthermore, althoughuser-specific Internet radio stations may reflect the preferences of theindividual listener, they lack the community of other services. Forexample, unless a Pandora.com user shares his station, he is the onlyone with access to it. Furthermore, if another Pandora.com user listensto a shared station, what he is really being shared is the songpreferences and not the actual broadcast. That is, both users listeningto the same shared station may not be listening to the same song.

In addition to the distribution of video and audio files, many servicesenable users to share images, such as photographs and illustrations. Forexample, Flickr.com allows users to upload pictures which can then beshared with other users. The photographs can be made public so that anyvisitor to the site may view them, or one may restrict access to thepictures to particular users. Such sites typically can display images ina data stream by scrolling selected images across the screen or byautomatically switching from one picture to the next (often called a“slide show”). However, like the data streaming methods of video andaudio, apart from providing a rating, users lack a means of affectingthe content.

What is lacking is a convenient and enjoyable medium by which users maynot only perceive a data stream transmission, but also may influence thecontent with their own individual input as the transmission isoccurring.

SUMMARY

The present invention addresses the aforementioned needs by enabling aninteractive data stream system. By obtaining user input, such as duringthe transmission of the data stream, a data stream service provider mayprovide recipients with a transmission of particular relevance orinterest to the recipient.

An object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism by which anindividual can influence the content of a data stream transmitted to anaudience.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism by which anindividual can contribute content to a data stream transmitted to anaudience by submitting data, such as images, audio, video, or text, tothe service distributing the transmission.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism for aninteractive data stream that enables recipients to participate in acontest.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism for anindividual to indicate his geographic location to the audience of a datastream transmission.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism for members ofa data stream audience to interact with one another by way of theservice distributing the data stream.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism for aninteractive data stream that enables recipients to receive real estateinformation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism for aninteractive data stream that enables recipients to influence the contentof a music broadcast.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism for aninteractive data stream that enables recipients to receive relevanttravel data.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism for aninteractive data stream that enables users to influence advertising dataassociated with the data stream.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism for a user ofan interactive data stream to purchase goods or services associated withthe content of the data stream.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism for users ofonline communities to share content via an interactive data stream, suchas, for example, favorite goods or services.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to describe the manner in which the above-recited and otheradvantages and features of the invention can be obtained, a moreparticular description of the invention briefly described above will berendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof that areillustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawingsdepict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not thereforeto be considered limiting of its scope, the invention will be describedand explained with additional specificity and detail through the use ofthe accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a general architecture overview of an embodiment ofan interactive data stream transmission system.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a data server of a data streamtransmission system.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of an embodiment of a process foradjusting the content of a data stream transmission per recipientinteraction.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of an example of the presentation ofdata stream content.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In order to describe the manner in which the above-recited and otheradvantages and features of the invention can be obtained, a moreparticular description of the invention is briefly described. Thepresent invention pertains to a system, computer program product, andmethods that enable an individual to perceive a data stream and tointeract with it. The concepts of the present invention can be appliedto software utilized by a device, such as a program installed on apersonal computer or mobile device, such as a mobile phone. However, theinvention could also be enabled as a device in itself designed for theconcepts set forth herein. The present invention can pertain to both adevice particular to the processes described herein and to softwaremethods that may enable any device to do the same.

FIG. 1 illustrates a general architecture overview of an embodiment ofthe system of the present invention. The system 100 can include a dataserver 102 of a service provider connected via a network 106 to one ormore devices 104, such as a laptop, a personal computer, or a mobiledevice (e.g, mobile phone, PDA, etc.). The network 106 may include theInternet, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), atelephone network, a mobile device network, or the like. The data server102 may also be connected to one or more content sources 108. A contentsource 108 may be any source of content (other than device 104) utilizedby the data server 102 for its data stream transmission(s). For example,a content source 108 may be a distributor of audio, video, image, ortextual data pertaining to, for example, music, news, real estateinformation, travel information, product information, or the like.Although FIG. 1 illustrates the connection between the data server 102and the content sources 108 as separate from the network 106 connectingthe data sever 102 to devices 104, this is done for purposes of emphasisand is not to be construed as limiting. The same network 106 may beutilized by all of the various components of the system. Furthermore, itis to be understood that FIG. 1 is for illustrative purposes only andthat the system of the present invention could encompass any number ofdata servers 102, devices 104, and content sources 108. Additionally,the types of devices illustrated are not to be construed as limiting asany device with the capability to receive a data stream may be utilized,whether the device is specifically designed to receive the data streamor is a general purpose device enabled to receive the data stream.

The data server 102 may include one or more components, as illustratedby FIG. 2. A content data store 202 may store (e.g., in a cache, inlong-term storage, or the like) content received from a content source108 or a device 104. The data server 102 may also include a content dataselector 204 which may query content sources 108 for content, determinecontent to be included in a transmission per established criteria, matchcontent with the appropriate recipient, and the like. A content assemblymodule 206 may utilize content stored in the content data store 202 andconfigure it for transmission, including adding control buttons, ads,links, descriptive text, community opinion of the content, or the like.The content transmission module 208 may handle data stream sessions andmanage connections to devices 104. A content accounting module 210 maytrack various statistics, such as amounts of royalty handled, the numberof times an element of content was presented (e.g., images or ads shown,songs played, etc.), the number of recipient clicks, or the like.Furthermore, the data server 102 may include a content trigger module212 that initiates an action when a recipient clicks a content link orcontrol button.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of an embodiment of a process for a dataserver 102 to adjust a data stream transmission per recipientinteraction. The data server 102 may initiate a data stream transmissionto a device 104 upon receipt of an activation signal sent from thedevice 104 (step 302). For example, an individual employing his personalcomputer may activate a desktop utility, such as a Yahoo Widget or aGoogle Gadget, thereby transmitting a signal to the data server 102.Once the activation signal is received, the data server 102 may transmita data stream transmission to the device 104 via the network 106 (step304). Once received, the content of the transmission, such as images,video, text, and/or audio data, may be presented to the recipient via apresentation mechanism of the device 104 (step 306). FIG. 4 illustratesan embodiment of an example of the presentation of data stream content.In regard to audio transmissions, corresponding images or video (e.g.,album covers, pictures of musicians, etc.) may be displayedsimultaneously with the audio data. The presentation mechanism maydisplay images by scrolling or sliding them across the screen, such asfrom left to right or up to down. The particular elements of thetransmission could be presented only once, or the elements can repeat asa loop and the elements of the loop may change or change position inresponse to user interaction. A user can concurrently use otherservices, if any, enabled by his device 104, while the data stream isdisplayed. Returning to the example of the desktop utility, the usercould run other software on his computer simultaneous to the display ofthe data stream. As another example, if the device 104 is a mobilephone, the data stream could run as the recipient performs other tasks,such as placing and receiving calls. Although a data server 102 maybroadcast multiple data stream transmissions, and a device 104 mayreceive and display more than one data stream, each recipient of aparticular stream may receive the same content at the same time or asclose as possible per limitations of the technology utilized.

As the recipient watches and/or listens to the content of the datastream, he may participate with the transmission. For example, therecipient may use the mouse of his personal computer to click apresented image. Doing so may initiate an interaction mechanism wherebythe user can interact with the transmission. For example, afterselecting an image, a dialogue box may appear to provide the recipientwith information about the content of the image or the associated audiodata, and enable the user to initiate interactions that may influencethe data stream transmission. Such information and the details of theparticular interactions could be included in the initial data streamtransmission or could be sent from the data server 102 once an elementof the transmission is selected. Once the recipient selects aninteraction, the data server 102 receives an interaction data messageregarding the interaction from the device 104 (step 308). For example,the recipient may upload image, video, text, and/or audio data to beincluded into the data stream. Other examples of manners in which arecipient may interact with the data stream include voting on content,adding tags to content, clicking on content, recommending content toanother person (a fellow recipient or an outside party), rating content,vetoing content, selecting content for future use (such as a query formore content or purchase), or by providing a direct link to the digitalrights or copyright holder of an element of content (perhaps enablingthe recipient to make a royalty payment to use the content). Uponreceipt of the interaction data message, the data server 102 may utilizethe message to adjust the content of the data stream accordingly (step310). Preferably, the data server 102 not only changes the content ofthe data stream transmitted to that particular device 104, but thecontent of the data stream is changed for all recipients of theparticular data stream, thereby ensuring each device 104 receiving thedata stream receives the same transmission. Once the data server 102 hasadjusted the data stream transmission, it continues sending thetransmission to the appropriate devices 104, unless the aforementionedadjustment results in the conclusion of the data stream transmission(step 312).

Having described an overview of the present invention, particularscenarios are described hereinafter. The inclusion of these descriptionsis not to be construed as limiting and it will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art that other variations of the present invention willbe possible without departing from the scope of the invention disclosed.Furthermore, although the following scenarios are typically described interms of image or audio data, this is for illustrative purposes only. Asaforementioned, the content of a data stream may include images, audio,video, text, and/or the like, and, as such, it is to be understood thatthe scenarios described hereinafter may be applied to any type of datathat may transmitted in a data stream.

Interactive Photograph Contests

In one scenario, the data stream transmission relayed by the data server102 may contain images provided by recipients of the data stream. Usingan uploading utility, a recipient may provide an image along with anidentifier, such as his name, email address, or the like. In oneexample, recipients may upload photographs of themselves and providetheir email addresses an identifiers. Typically, as the data server 102receives the images, a filtering mechanism will screen them forappropriateness for the audience of the data stream. If an image iscleared by the filtering mechanism, it may be added to the data streamtransmission. Recipients of the data stream may then view these imagesas they are displayed. If a recipient sees the image he uploaded, he mayselect it, thereby initiating a dialogue asking for his identifier. Thedata server 102 receives the identifier, compares it to the one it hasstored for the associated image, and, if they match, the recipient mayreceive a prize. If necessary, the data server 102 could send a messageto be displayed on the recipient's device 104 prompting him to providenecessary contact details. Alternatively, if the identifier itselfcontains contact details (e.g., an email address) or the recipient hasalready provided such information (e.g., during service registration),the data server 102 utilize this data to contact him.

In another scenario, images included in the data stream (having beenprovided by recipients) are voted upon by recipients. For example, whena recipient sees a picture that he likes (or does not like), he mayselect it and be presented with a dialogue asking him for a rating,which may be a scale (e.g., one to five stars), a positive or negativeanswer (e.g., “hot” or “not”), or the like. The data server 102periodically utilizes voting data it has received to determine the imagethat received the most votes, and thereby determining the winner (i.e.,the individual that provided the image). Possible uses of this scenariomay be for contests regarding voting for the cutest baby, the bestamateur art (painting, photography, etc.) or the like. Once a winner hasbeen established, the transmission may cease, or may continue with newlyadded data.

Audience Member Locator and Communication Forum

A recipient of a data stream may desire to let other recipients knowwhere he is, was, or will be. For example, a person going out for anight on the town may want to let other recipients know where he will bein case they wish to join him. The person may upload upload his image tothe data server 102 and provide a location identifier, such as a ZipCode, city name, establishment name, or the like, in association withit. The specificity of the location identifier may be determined by therecipient. For example, if a recipient so wishes, he may provide a veryspecific identifier, such as Global Positioning System (GPS)coordinates. The system may be enabled to receive live (or near-to live)location data from the recipient and/or his device 104, and update thedata stream content accordingly. Furthermore, the individual mayindicate the duration he wants this information to be in the data stream(e.g., how long he will be out on the town). Alternatively, theindividual may have previously provided the image and information to thedata server 102 and simply activate this data. Once uploaded (oractivated), the data server 102 places this information into the datastream transmission. The user's content may only be viewable torecipients within proximity to the user as indicated by his locationidentifier. A recipient of the data stream may select an image of aperson in the data stream to view his location information.

In addition to, or instead of, location information, a user may providecontact information such as a phone number, email address, instantmessenger ID, or the like. When recipients select his image, they may bepresented with this information. In another scenario, contactinformation is kept confidential by the data server 102. A recipientdesiring to contact another audience member may select the member'simage and be presented with a communication interface. The data server102 may then enable communication between the two members, such as byrelaying messages via email or instant messenger, or by connecting thetwo members via a voice connection. If the data stream is utilized via avoice communication device, such as a mobile phone, the data server 102may place a call on behalf of the requesting recipient, or the like.

Home Sales Assistant

In another scenario, the present invention may be used by an individualto locate real estate for sale. The user may provide the data server 102with criteria for real estate he wishes to purchase or monitor. The dataserver 102 may query its own databases or those of a third party realestate service (e.g., Zillow.com, Realtor.com, etc.) for homes thatmatch that criteria. The data server 102 may then transmit pictures ofthe matching real estate to the recipient's device 104, enabling him tosee pictures of homes that match that criteria as they come onto themarket. An alternate version may use hierarchical data that comesthrough the data stream transmission as the recipient searches, enablinghim to refine his search. For example, a data stream transmission mayfirst include a picture of a condominium, a townhouse, and asingle-family home. After the recipient selects the picture of asingle-family home, the data stream may adjust to display a picture of aranch-style home and a multi-level home, and so on.

Travel Deal Finder Assistant

A user may provide travel criteria to the data server 102, such as thedesired time of departure, destination, and the like. The data server102 may then transmit a data stream of images associated with variousmatching travel deals. The user may then select an image to view theparticulars of the deal and, if so desired, purchase it. For example, auser may use the data stream transmission to locate a last minuteflight.

Interactive Radio Stream

As aforementioned, the data stream sent by the data server 102 maycontain audio data, such as songs. All recipients of the data stream maylisten to the same songs in real-time or near-to real-time. As the arecipient listens, images associated with the song, such as an albumcover, may slide across the display of his device 104. By selecting theimage, a recipient may access a dialogue to provide feedback about thesong, such as a rating from one to ten. Selecting an image may alsoenable the user to download the song, purchase the album, or the like.In addition to the current song, the data stream transmission mayinclude a queue indicating upcoming songs. In one scenario, thescrolling of the image may be timed with the duration of the song sothat the image completes its travel across the display of device 104when the song ends. When the song ends, the next song plays and the nextimage begins to scroll across the display. In addition to voting on thecurrent song, recipients may vote on the songs in the queue. A songreceiving a certain number of votes may be added to those that will beplayed. For example, the top five songs listed in the queue may havereceived enough votes for broadcast, while the next five are open tovoting. Recipients may be presented with the option to vote positively,negatively, or both. If a song receives a certain number of negativevotes, it may be removed from the queue. Once a song is removed from thequeue, either by being played or voted off the queue, another song (andits associated image) may enter the queue. In one scenario, the lastslot in a queue is open to submission by recipients. Whether the song isadded to the queue may be determined by various parameters, such as thesubmitting user being the first to submit a song request.

Deal Transmission

In one scenario, the data stream transmission may include contentpertaining to sales, deals, promotions, and the like for variousproducts. The types of products include in the data stream could bedetermined by the recipient, such as per established preferences or perinteractions with the data stream. The recipient may select an itempresented in the data stream, such as by clicking it with his mouse, andthe product may be added to an electronic shopping cart. Further more,the most popular items selected by recipients of the data stream couldbe presented in a second data stream displaying “hot deals” for the day.

In another scenario, members of an online community, such as a Facebooknetwork, may share their favorite goods or services (e.g., music albums,books, clothing, handbags, etc.) via the data stream. For example, aparticipating user may indicate a favorite good or service (e.g., a booktitle) to the data server 102. The data server 102 may then retrieveassociated content (e.g., a book jacket image) from its content datastore 202 or from a content source 108 (e.g., from the World Wide Web).The data server 102 may then adjust the data stream to include theassociated content (e.g., an image of the book jacket). When a recipientof the data stream selects an element of the data stream, he may beenabled to purchase it. For example, when a recipient viewing a datastream of book jacket images clicks an image, he may be presented with aweb page allowing him to purchase the book represented by the bookjacket image. Suppliers of goods or services may bid to be the providerof the good or service. The data server 102 may select the supplierbased upon one or more criteria. For example, the data server 102 mayselect the supplier that offers the good or service for the lowest priceor the supplier that provides the most commission to the operator of thedata server 102. The data server 102 may present the selected suppliervia a web interface as the “Featured Supplier,” and may allow therecipient to either choose the “Featured Supplier” or choose anothersupplier (e.g, via a “Go Shopping” option), such as via a web searchingmechanism (e.g., Google Product Search, PriceGrabber.com, etc.).

Advertising

In one scenario, a data stream transmission can include advertisingintermixed with the content of the transmission itself or placed in aheader, footer, border, or the like connected to the contents of thedata stream. Empty advertising space may be displayed during the datastream transmission. A recipient desiring to add advertising to the datastream may select this empty space (e.g., a image slot saying “Space forRent”) and be presented with a prompt enabling him to add advertisingdata.

These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art by a review of the preceding detaileddescription. Although a number of salient features of the presentinvention have been described above, the invention is capable of otherembodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways thatwould be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after reading thedisclosed invention. Therefore, the description should not be consideredto be exclusive of these other embodiments. Also, it is to be understoodthat the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for thepurposes of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

1-9. (canceled)
 10. An apparatus comprising: a device configured toreceive a data stream including content data from a data server, thedata server being configured to provide the same data stream to one ormore other devices for presentation of the same content data by therespective one or more other devices, wherein the device is configuredto present the content data of the data stream to a user, the contentdata including a plurality of visual elements, the device beingconfigured to present the content data including being configured toscroll or slide the visual elements arranged in a position on a screen,wherein the device is configured to receive an indication of a useraction, or an indication of user interaction with the content data ofthe data stream, wherein the device is configured to transmit dataassociated with the user action or user interaction, the data serverbeing configured to adjust the content data of the data stream per theuser action or user interaction, the adjusted content data includingdifferent visual elements or the same visual elements arranged in adifferent position, and wherein the device being configured to receive adata stream includes being configured to receive the data stream furtherincluding the adjusted content data, and being configured to present thecontent data includes being configured to further present the adjustedcontent data, the data server being configured to provide the same datastream to the one or more other devices for further presentation of thesame adjusted content data by the respective one or more other devices.11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the device is one of a computeror a mobile device.
 12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the contentdata includes one or more of image data, textual data, video data oraudio data.
 13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the device isconfigured to receive the indication of user interaction, the indicationincluding one or more of image data, textual data, video data or audiodata.
 14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the device is configured toreceive the indication of user interaction, the indication includinginput regarding one or more elements of the content data.
 15. Theapparatus of claim 10, wherein the device is configured to receive theindication of user interaction, the indication including a request forfurther information regarding one or more elements of the content data.16. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the device is configured toreceive the indication of user interaction, the indication including arequest to purchase a good or service associated with one or moreelements of the content data.
 17. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein thedevice is configured to receive the indication of user interaction, theindication including selection of a visual element different from thevisual elements of the of the content data, the selected visual elementincluding one or more of image data or video data, wherein the device isconfigured to transmit data associated with the user interaction,including being configured to upload the selected visual element, thedata server being configured to adjust the content data of the datastream to add the selected, uploaded visual element to the content data,the adjusted content data including the uploaded, added visual element.18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the device being configured toreceive the indication of user interaction includes being configured tofurther receive a location identifier reflecting a geographic locationor contact information for the user, wherein the device being configuredto transmit data associated with the user interaction includes beingconfigured to upload the selected visual element and location identifieror contact information, the data server thereby being configured toadjust the content data of the data stream to add the selected, uploadedvisual element and location identifier or contact information to thecontent data, the adjusted content data including the uploaded, addedvisual element and location identifier or contact information.
 19. Theapparatus of claim 10, wherein the device being configured to receivethe indication of user action or user interaction includes beingconfigured to receive a location identifier reflecting a geographiclocation or contact the information for the user, wherein the devicebeing configured to transmit data associated with the user interactionincludes being configured to transmit the location identifier or contactinformation, the data server being configured to adjust the content dataof the data stream to add the location identifier or contact informationto the content data, the adjusted content data including the addedlocation identifier or contact information.
 20. The apparatus of claim10, wherein the content data of the data stream includes information fora plurality of goods or services available for purchase, wherein thedevice is configured to receive the indication of user interaction, theindication including selection of one of the goods or services, andwherein the device being configured to transmit data associated with theuser interaction includes being configured to transmit the selection,the data server thereby being configured to adjust the content data toadd a second data stream to include the selected good or service and anyother of the goods or services for which the data server receivesselection from a predetermined number of the device and the one or moreother devices, the second data stream thereby including goods orservices designated as being popular goods or services.
 21. Theapparatus of claim 10, wherein the visual elements of the content datainclude empty advertising space interspersed with other visual elements,wherein the device is configured to receive the indication of userinteraction, the indication including selection of the empty advertisingspace, wherein the device being configured to transmit data associatedwith the user interaction includes being configured to transmit anindication of selection of the empty advertising space, the data serverthereby being configured to cause the device to present a prompt topermit the user to input advertising data, and wherein the device isconfigured to receive further user interaction including beingconfigured to receive the advertising data, the device being configuredto transmit further data associated with the user interaction includingbeing configured to transmit the advertising data, the data serverthereby being configured to adjust the content data of the data streamto add the advertising data to the content data, the adjusted contentdata including the added advertising data.
 22. An apparatus comprising:a data server configured to provide a data stream including content datato a plurality of devices for presentation of the content data of thedata stream to users of the respective devices, the content dataincluding a plurality of visual elements, the data server beingconfigured to provide the data stream for the respective devices toscroll or slide the visual elements arranged in a position on respectivescreens, wherein data server is configured to receive, data associatedwith a user action, or data associated with a user interaction with thecontent data of the data stream at the respective one of the devices,wherein the data server is configured to adjust the content data of thedata stream per the user action or user interaction, the adjustedcontent data including different visual elements or the same visualelements arranged in a different position, and wherein the data serverbeing configured to provide a data stream further includes beingconfigured to provide the data stream further including the adjustedcontent data to the plurality of devices for further presentation of theadjusted content of the data stream to the users of the respectivedevices.
 23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the content dataincludes one or more of image data, textual data, video data or audiodata.
 24. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the data server isconfigured to receive the data associated with user interaction, thedata including one or more of image data, textual data, video data oraudio data.
 25. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the data server isconfigured to receive the data associated with user interaction includesbeing configured to receive, the data including input regarding one ormore elements of the content data.
 26. The apparatus of claim 22,wherein the data server is configured to receive the data associatedwith user interaction, the data including a request for furtherinformation regarding one or more elements of the content data.
 27. Theapparatus of claim 22, wherein the data server is configured to receivethe data associated with user interaction, the data including a requestto purchase a good or service associated with one or more elements ofthe content data.
 28. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein data server isconfigured to receive the data associated with user interaction, thedata including an uploaded visual element different from the visualelements of the of the content data, the uploaded visual elementincluding one or more of image data or video data, wherein the dataserver being configured to adjust the content data includes beingconfigured to add the uploaded visual element to the content data, theadjusted content data including the uploaded, added visual element. 29.The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the data server being configured toreceive data associated with user action or user interaction includesbeing configured to receive a location identifier reflecting ageographic location or contact information for the user, and wherein thedata server being configured to adjust the content data includes beingconfigured to add the location identifier or contact information to thecontent data, the adjusted content data including the added locationidentifier or contact information.
 30. The apparatus of claim 29,wherein the data server being configured to adjust the content dataincludes being configured to add previously-uploaded image data with thelocation identifier or contact information, the adjusted content dataincluding the added, previously-uploaded image data and locationidentifier or contact information.
 31. A non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program codeportions stored therein, the computer-readable storage medium andcomputer-readable program code portions being configured to, with aprocessor, cause an apparatus to at least: receive a data streamincluding content data from a data server, the data server beingconfigured to provide the same data stream to one or more other devicesfor presentation of the same content data by the respective one or moreother devices; direct presentation of the content data of the datastream to a user, the content data including a plurality of visualelements, being configured to cause the apparatus to direct presentationof the content data including being configured to direct the apparatusto scroll or slide the visual elements arranged in a position on ascreen; receive an indication of a user action, or an indication of userinteraction with the content data of the data stream; and directtransmission of data associated with the user action or userinteraction, the data server being configured to adjust the content dataof the data stream per the user action or user interaction, the adjustedcontent data including different visual elements or the same visualelements arranged in a different position, wherein being configured tocause the apparatus to receive a data stream includes being configuredto cause the apparatus to receive the data stream further including theadjusted content data, and being configured to cause the apparatus todirect presentation of the content data includes being configured tocause the apparatus to further direct presentation of the adjustedcontent data, the data server being configured to provide the same datastream to the one or more other devices for further presentation of thesame adjusted content data by the respective one or more other devices.32. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 31,wherein the content data includes one or more of image data, textualdata, video data or audio data.
 33. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 31, wherein the apparatus is caused to receivethe indication of user interaction, the indication including one or moreof image data, textual data, video data or audio data.
 34. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 31, wherein theapparatus is caused to receive the indication of user interaction, theindication including input regarding one or more elements of the contentdata.
 35. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim31, wherein the apparatus is caused to receive the indication of userinteraction, the indication including a request for further informationregarding one or more elements of the content data.
 36. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 31, wherein theapparatus is caused to receive the indication of user interaction, theindication including a request to purchase a good or service associatedwith one or more elements of the content data.
 37. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 31, wherein the apparatus iscaused to receive the indication of user interaction, the indicationincluding selection of a visual element different from the visualelements of the content data, the selected visual element including oneor more of image data or video data, wherein being configured to causethe apparatus to direct transmission of data associated with the userinteraction includes being configured to cause the apparatus to directan upload of the selected visual element, the data server beingconfigured to adjust the content data of the data stream to add theselected, uploaded visual element of the content data, the adjustedcontent data including the uploaded, added visual element.
 38. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readableprogram code portions stored therein, the computer-readable storagemedium and computer-readable program code portions being configured to,with a processor, cause an apparatus to at least: direct provision of adata stream including content data to a plurality of devices forpresentation of the content data of the data stream to users of therespective devices, the content data including a plurality of visualelements, provision of the data stream being directed to the pluralityof devices for the respective devices to scroll or slide the visualelements arranged in a position on respective screens; receive dataassociated with a user action, or data associated with a userinteraction with the content data of the data stream at the respectiveone of the devices; and adjust the content data of the data stream perthe user action or user interaction, the adjusted content data includingdifferent visual elements or the same visual elements arranged in adifferent position, wherein being configured to cause the apparatus todirect provision of a data stream further includes being configured tocause the apparatus to direct provision of the data stream furtherincluding the adjusted content data to the plurality of devices forfurther presentation of the adjusted content of the data stream to theusers of the respective devices.
 39. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 38, wherein the content dataincludes one or more of image data, textual data, video data or audiodata.
 40. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim38, wherein the apparatus is caused to receive the data associated withuser interaction, the data including one or more of image data, textualdata, video data or audio data.
 41. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 38, wherein the apparatus is caused to receivethe data associated with user interaction, the data including inputregarding one or more elements of the content data.
 42. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 38, wherein theapparatus is caused to receive the data associated with userinteraction, the data including a request for further informationregarding one or more elements of the content data.
 43. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 38, wherein theapparatus is caused to receive the data associated with userinteraction, the data including a request to purchase a good or serviceassociated with one or more elements of the content data.
 44. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 38, wherein theapparatus is caused to receive the data associated with userinteraction, the data including an uploaded visual element differentfrom the visual elements of the of the content data, the uploaded visualelement including one or more of image data or video data, wherein beingconfigured to cause the apparatus to adjust the content data includesbeing configured to cause the apparatus to add the uploaded visualelement to the content data, the adjusted content data including theuploaded, added visual element.